Israeli Drone Strike on Southern Lebanon Kills Five, US Disputes Claims Four Were US Citizens

An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a car and a motorcycle on a road in Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing at least five people, including three children. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the deaths, and also reported two people were wounded. According to the Lebanese government, Four of the five, including all the children, were US citizens. They were a father and his three children. The mother was also present and among the wounded, and according to the Foreign Ministry, she is in critical condition. The US State Department later issued a statement saying there “indications” were that none of the slain were US citizens.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun slammed the attack, calling it a massacre, and calling for the international community to pressure Israel into complying with the November ceasefire, both in not attacking and in withdrawing ground troops from Lebanon soil.

The vehicles were reportedly near a hospital at the time of attack, which is how a lot of bystanders were hit in the attack. It’s not clear who the people in the vehicles were either. Israel claimed a Hezbollah figure was killed in the attack, though it acknowledged that “several uninvolved civilians” were also slain. They said the killings were “under review.”